By mid-week Marley was doing much better. He was acting like he normally does. On Friday, he took a turn for the worse. He vomited and started the heavy panting and breathing again. It continued into this morning, so I dropped him off at the vet. After she examined Marley, the vet called to say that the pain was coming from his abdomen. It was unlikely that it was from the Prednisone since we had already started decreasing it. She felt that Marley either had pancreatitis or gastroenteritis. Either way, Marley needed an IV and needed to be hospitalized. Since there wasn't 24-hour care available at the vet's office, we were going to have to transport Marley to the emergency animal hospital where he would stay until Monday. At that point, we could take him back to our vet if he hadn't improved.
George and I decided that we couldn't put Marley through all of that and that it was time to let him go. We went back to the vet's office and were allowed some time with Marley. He was so excited to see us! His tail was wagging, but he continued the heavy panting and shaking! George and I talked soothingly to him, petted him, cried, and told him goodbye. We held Marley as the vet injected him and told him how much we loved him. It was somewhat of a relief to see Marley resting so comfortably after that. We made arrangements to have him cremated. His ashes will be put in a box. We'll be able to put him next to the boxes with Lucky and Muffy. I'm sure the three of them are happy to see each other again and be together in doggy heaven!
A little history about Marley: Christina found him in Rolla when she attended the University there. I think that was in 1993 or '94. She bathed him and gave him flea treatment because he was so unkept. She named him Marley after the singer Bob Marley. Marley stayed in Christina's dorm room for a few days until she could bring him home. Our vet estimated that Marley was probably about one and a half years old. He lived with us until Christina moved to Florida in 1995. In December 1997, Marley and Christina moved back in with us. We've had him ever since then. Marley has been a big part of our lives for a long time. We are going to miss him a lot!!!!
I'll try to scan some pictures of Marley and post them soon so that you can see him.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
F-R-E-A-K-E-D OUT!
I can't tell you why or what I was freaked out about until you know what led up to it. So here's the story...
First it was Tori (our Chow/lab mix) that was sick, then Marley (our 15 year old cocker mix). I could tell that Marley was in pain because he kept panting heavily, wouldn't sit or lie down, and kept wanting to be close to me. On the first trip to the animal hospital, the vet thought Marley's neck was bothering him. She gave us pain killers and muscle relaxers. At first it seemed to help, but after a few days, Marley seemed worse. That meant another trip back to the vet.
When I took him in this time, I had to leave Marley again for observation and x-rays. I was afraid that something was seriously wrong with him and that we'd have to put him asleep. I was bawling when they took him in the back. All day I was on pins and needles waiting for a call from the vet. At 4:00 the receptionist called to tell us that they had completed the x-rays, but the vet was waiting for a call back from a specialist. "Uh-oh!", I thought. At 4:30 the receptionist called back to ask us if we could talk to the vet at 5:30. This time I thought, "Oh, no! She's going to tell us something really bad!"
The vet showed us the x-rays and explained all the things that she saw regarding Marley's neck, spine, and hips. We saw the arthritis that we knew Marley had. He also has some compressed disc - one in his neck and one in his lower back. Marley has what looks like be a possible fracture in his hip, but it wasn't real clear on the x-ray. Another area of Marley's hip was a bright white which is can be anindication of bone cancer. However, it wasn't in an area where cancer usually occurs. The specialist thought the discs were probably causing problems, but without seeing the dog and the x-rays, he couldn't be sure.
The choice was ours - treat Marley for the discs and/or see the specialist. Because of his age, Marley wouldn't be a good candidate for surgery or extensive cancer treatments. We wouldn't put him through that. We opted to treat him for the disc problem - triple the pain medicine (and give it around the clock) and start a high dose of Prednisone on Monday. If Marley didn't show improvement by Wednesday, we were going to have to take him back to the vet and discuss what other options we might have.
Now we're getting to the part of why I was freaked out. I got up at 3:15 a.m. to give Marley his pain med. I put the pills in a little bit of canned dog food to intice him to swallow them. I rinsed off the spoon and put it in the kitchen sink. I let both dogs lick the dog food off my fingers, so I had to wash my hands. That's when I saw it! A tarantula in my kitchen sink!!!!!! I screamed, then ran to the bedroom to get George. After yelling at him a couple of times, he woke up and came running behind me to the kitchen. I showed him what the problem was, then ran into the laundry room to get the wasp & hornet spray so we wouldn't have to get close to the tarantula. George sprayed it and sprayed it while I stood back saying things like "Ahhhhhhhhh!" and "Be careful!" Once the spider became groggy, George tried pushing it into the garbage disposal with a pair of pliers. That was getting way to close for my comfort level, so I handed him a long-handled wooden spoon. Finally he got the spider pushed down! George turned the water on full blast, then hit the switch for the disposal. We let it run for a LONG time.
My adrenaline level was pretty high from all of the excitement, so I had a hard time falling back to sleep. Every time I think about that spider I shiver and curl my body up. I'm really paranoid now about where I put my feet and hands.
We have no idea how a tarantula could have gotten in our kitchen sink. There better not be another one or I'll be wanting to move again!!!
As for Marley, he started feeling better once he started the Prednisone.
First it was Tori (our Chow/lab mix) that was sick, then Marley (our 15 year old cocker mix). I could tell that Marley was in pain because he kept panting heavily, wouldn't sit or lie down, and kept wanting to be close to me. On the first trip to the animal hospital, the vet thought Marley's neck was bothering him. She gave us pain killers and muscle relaxers. At first it seemed to help, but after a few days, Marley seemed worse. That meant another trip back to the vet.
When I took him in this time, I had to leave Marley again for observation and x-rays. I was afraid that something was seriously wrong with him and that we'd have to put him asleep. I was bawling when they took him in the back. All day I was on pins and needles waiting for a call from the vet. At 4:00 the receptionist called to tell us that they had completed the x-rays, but the vet was waiting for a call back from a specialist. "Uh-oh!", I thought. At 4:30 the receptionist called back to ask us if we could talk to the vet at 5:30. This time I thought, "Oh, no! She's going to tell us something really bad!"
The vet showed us the x-rays and explained all the things that she saw regarding Marley's neck, spine, and hips. We saw the arthritis that we knew Marley had. He also has some compressed disc - one in his neck and one in his lower back. Marley has what looks like be a possible fracture in his hip, but it wasn't real clear on the x-ray. Another area of Marley's hip was a bright white which is can be anindication of bone cancer. However, it wasn't in an area where cancer usually occurs. The specialist thought the discs were probably causing problems, but without seeing the dog and the x-rays, he couldn't be sure.
The choice was ours - treat Marley for the discs and/or see the specialist. Because of his age, Marley wouldn't be a good candidate for surgery or extensive cancer treatments. We wouldn't put him through that. We opted to treat him for the disc problem - triple the pain medicine (and give it around the clock) and start a high dose of Prednisone on Monday. If Marley didn't show improvement by Wednesday, we were going to have to take him back to the vet and discuss what other options we might have.
Now we're getting to the part of why I was freaked out. I got up at 3:15 a.m. to give Marley his pain med. I put the pills in a little bit of canned dog food to intice him to swallow them. I rinsed off the spoon and put it in the kitchen sink. I let both dogs lick the dog food off my fingers, so I had to wash my hands. That's when I saw it! A tarantula in my kitchen sink!!!!!! I screamed, then ran to the bedroom to get George. After yelling at him a couple of times, he woke up and came running behind me to the kitchen. I showed him what the problem was, then ran into the laundry room to get the wasp & hornet spray so we wouldn't have to get close to the tarantula. George sprayed it and sprayed it while I stood back saying things like "Ahhhhhhhhh!" and "Be careful!" Once the spider became groggy, George tried pushing it into the garbage disposal with a pair of pliers. That was getting way to close for my comfort level, so I handed him a long-handled wooden spoon. Finally he got the spider pushed down! George turned the water on full blast, then hit the switch for the disposal. We let it run for a LONG time.
My adrenaline level was pretty high from all of the excitement, so I had a hard time falling back to sleep. Every time I think about that spider I shiver and curl my body up. I'm really paranoid now about where I put my feet and hands.
We have no idea how a tarantula could have gotten in our kitchen sink. There better not be another one or I'll be wanting to move again!!!
As for Marley, he started feeling better once he started the Prednisone.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Busy, busy, busy!
Boy, have I been busy! Most of you know that I am now a Creative Memories consultant. I have been busy the past couple of weeks on getting my business ready. I've ordered some products to show my potential customers and to give away as prizes. I've also ordered business cards and a shirt with the CM logo on it for myself. I've been running off some labels with my contact information and putting them on catalogs and brochures. I've unpacked all my products, typed up an inventory list, organized and filed necessary papers. All of this is to get ready for my "ribbon cutting" showing on Friday. The problem is, I've only had one person tell me that they are coming. I passed out 50 flyers in my neighborhood, talked to a few neighbors, passed out flyers at knitting and crafting groups, had Jackie pass some out to the mom's at the kids preschool, and emailed some flyers. It's a little disappointing, but I'm not letting it get me down. If no one shows up, then I'll have more time to meet more people and work on advertising via paper and word-of-mouth.
That's not all I've been doing. George and I have also begun to hang up some pictures, mirrors, and a shelf around the house. I unpacked all the knick-knacks that we have here and put them on some of the shelves. I also rearranged the dining room to make it look nicer. I'd post a picture of it, but I have my Creative Memories products all over the table right now.
Another thing that we've done is go to the YMCA. We joined a couple of weeks ago. Last week both George and I tried out a water aerobics class. It was fun! I am going to continue to go to the class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I'm not sure about George. He didn't do it with me last night. Instead, he worked out with the weights and on the bag.
On Labor Day, there were special yoga events going on all around town. They were all free! You can't beat that price! George and I went to a session in the morning. It was interesting to do. It was definitely VERY relaxing! I wish I would have had the time to take yoga when I was working. I think it would have helped to relieve some of the stress of the job. (Do you hear me Carolyn, Eric, PJ, Bernadette, and Mary?)
Today Jackie and I went to Super Suppers to put together some meals. We had fun doing it with each other. The prices were comparable to the meals I put together in St. Louis at Let's Dish. After we eat some of the meals, I'll let you know about the quality.
Oh, another thing I did over the weekend was buy a gas grill and some plants for my deck. George said that he is going to do the grilling. I'm making it easy for him to start off. I bought some pre-cooked hamburgers for him to grill. All he'll really need to do is get them heated through. I might even have him try to cook the corn on the cob on the grill. I'll let you know how that turns out, too. I'm hoping that we are out of the rainy spell that we've had the past week so that we can try out the grill soon!
Jackie and Christina and their families bought me some deck chairs for my birthday. That's what I asked for. Between the chairs, the grill, and the plants, the deck is starting to look like someone lives here. Now that the weather is a little cooler (but very, very humid from all the rain), we might sit out on the deck.
Today I volunteered at the library for the first time. It was quite busy. I started by checking in items. However, the volunteer who worked before me didn't get many items shelved, so we had 3 carts packed with things that needed shelving. Another volunteer and I spent 2 1/2 hours putting things back on the shelves while 2 high school volunteers checked in the items. By the time my shift ended at 6:00, we were caught up. I'm hoping that it's not quite that busy every week. I'd like to get to meet people while I'm at the library.
That's all for now! Feel free to post a comment if you read this. It's not hard to do and you don't have to sign up. After you type in your comment, you can click the circle that says "other", then put in your name or initials.
That's not all I've been doing. George and I have also begun to hang up some pictures, mirrors, and a shelf around the house. I unpacked all the knick-knacks that we have here and put them on some of the shelves. I also rearranged the dining room to make it look nicer. I'd post a picture of it, but I have my Creative Memories products all over the table right now.
Another thing that we've done is go to the YMCA. We joined a couple of weeks ago. Last week both George and I tried out a water aerobics class. It was fun! I am going to continue to go to the class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I'm not sure about George. He didn't do it with me last night. Instead, he worked out with the weights and on the bag.
On Labor Day, there were special yoga events going on all around town. They were all free! You can't beat that price! George and I went to a session in the morning. It was interesting to do. It was definitely VERY relaxing! I wish I would have had the time to take yoga when I was working. I think it would have helped to relieve some of the stress of the job. (Do you hear me Carolyn, Eric, PJ, Bernadette, and Mary?)
Today Jackie and I went to Super Suppers to put together some meals. We had fun doing it with each other. The prices were comparable to the meals I put together in St. Louis at Let's Dish. After we eat some of the meals, I'll let you know about the quality.
Oh, another thing I did over the weekend was buy a gas grill and some plants for my deck. George said that he is going to do the grilling. I'm making it easy for him to start off. I bought some pre-cooked hamburgers for him to grill. All he'll really need to do is get them heated through. I might even have him try to cook the corn on the cob on the grill. I'll let you know how that turns out, too. I'm hoping that we are out of the rainy spell that we've had the past week so that we can try out the grill soon!
Jackie and Christina and their families bought me some deck chairs for my birthday. That's what I asked for. Between the chairs, the grill, and the plants, the deck is starting to look like someone lives here. Now that the weather is a little cooler (but very, very humid from all the rain), we might sit out on the deck.
Today I volunteered at the library for the first time. It was quite busy. I started by checking in items. However, the volunteer who worked before me didn't get many items shelved, so we had 3 carts packed with things that needed shelving. Another volunteer and I spent 2 1/2 hours putting things back on the shelves while 2 high school volunteers checked in the items. By the time my shift ended at 6:00, we were caught up. I'm hoping that it's not quite that busy every week. I'd like to get to meet people while I'm at the library.
That's all for now! Feel free to post a comment if you read this. It's not hard to do and you don't have to sign up. After you type in your comment, you can click the circle that says "other", then put in your name or initials.
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